Skip to main content

City Council Grab Bag: Treats in the Streets, Ice Rink, Road Work, City Budget, Wastewater Line Replacement Cost

 


It's been a month or so since I last posted, and there are quite a few topics or bits of info to get out.

  • Treats in the Streets 2023: We're looking for someone to put together and head up a committee for our 2nd annual Treats in the Streets. After the great success of the event last year, we'd like to try it again. If you and some others are willing to make it happen, please stop by city hall and volunteer.
  • Ice Rink in Neibaur/Veterans Park: We have a business that is planning to open an ice rink on the old tennis courts during the winter months. The plan is to have two rinks, a larger 55x105' and a smaller 20x40', along with a warming/skate rental tent and a tent for the Zamboni. The city approved the special use permit for the business, and we hope it goes well with this first winter.
  • Road Maintenance: The city public works director, Arlynn Jacobson, and his crew have been patching some of the roads throughout town. There are also some streets that are getting additional work done on them this summer season. We appreciate their work on our roads. It's not easy to keep the roads in good shape in Idaho, and they do a good job.
  • City Budget: The mayor and city council had a budget work meeting on July 26th. The tentative budget will be on the agenda this week and the final budget to be voted on at the August 24th meeting. The city is in good financial shape. The mayor and city employees and city council all take seriously their responsibility to residents in this regard.
  • Wastewater Lines: Speaking of money, Rexburg is moving ahead with their upgrades to their wastewater lines and facilities. The upgrades and replacements are much needed. Sugar City (and the city of Teton) sends its wastewater to Rexburg for processing. The lines from our city to Moody Rd and from Moody Rd to Rexburg are 40+ years old. They are concrete and have long outlasted their usability. They are bad shape. Sugar City's portion of the replacement costs will be significant. We are pursuing various methods for paying for this project, including grants and low-interest loans. The council lowered the base rate for water a couple of years ago and raised the base rate for wastewater to begin collecting funds to pay for this project. The city had not been taking in enough money to pay for such maintenance and replacement of major infrastructure projects. It doesn't get cheaper to replace lines and upgrade facilities when the time comes in the future. The idea is to have rates that are just high enough to pay for such projects in the future without having to get loans or bonds. Of course, no one likes to pay higher costs for utilities. So the balance is tricky--rates that are high enough, but no higher. In any case, I'll post more about the process and the options the city considers and decides to pursue. We should have more info presented in this week's city council meeting.
Sugar City continues to be a great place to live. I hope everyone's summer is going great. Contact me or other city council members or the mayor or stop by city hall if you have questions or concerns or ideas about anything in our great town.

Popular posts from this blog

FY 2026 Budget and Alcohol Ordinance

FY 2026 Budget The city council passed the budget for the upcoming fiscal year 2026, which begins October 1st. (City budget fiscal years run from October to September.) It's a good budget, and I think the council and mayor are doing a good job keeping track of how our taxes and other public monies are being used. As normally happens, some fees were adjusted. (Of course, most of the time that means they went up when the government and businesses are talking.) The city has to hold public hearings for any fee increases above 5%. We only had one fee increase above 5% and it went up because of the increased cost of postage at the post office: the Paper Utility Statement fee went up to $1.09. The utility fee increases are listed below and compared with the fees from last year (or currently until October). Costs for maintenance, repairs, and capital projects demand that we increase fees each year to keep up with inflation and rising costs, overall.  None of us like utility fees to increas...

Sugar Days 2025; P&Z Vacancy; Little Park Update; Little Libraries; FT City Employee Opening; CERT

  Sugar Days 2025 Sugar Days is one week away! We hope everyone in our community can come out and enjoy the family-friendly day in Heritage park. I'd like to highlight a few things: The Historical Society will be hosting a silent auction as a fund raiser for their continuing goal to fund a new museum. Please stop by their booth. Grand Teton Farm and Mill (ancientgrains.com) is sponsoring a 5-minute Teton Dam Flood Memories Project. A group of BYU-Idaho students will be hosting brief interviews with people who have memories to share about the flood. The booth will be set up next to the Historical Society's space, so please come by and get your memories recorded for posterity. At 10am at the city's tent, we'll be presenting awards for the Citizen of the Year (Kevin Miyasaki) and Public Servant of the Year Award (Lynsey Bean). Please come and congratulate Kevin and Lynsey for this well-deserved recognition! Planning & Zoning Commission Vacancy We're looking for a n...

USS Idaho; Sugar Days; City Budget 2025-26; Population Change in ID; Happy Independence Day!

  I recently heard a presentation on the upcoming commissioning of the newest nuclear submarine in the US Navy, the USS Idaho. As the Commissioning Committee's website says: The future USS IDAHO SSN 799 is a leading-edge Virginia Class nuclear-powered fast attack submarine being built by General Dynamics Electric Boat in Connecticut. She was christened in March 2024, and is likely to be commissioned into the Navy fleet during the spring of 2026. It was fascinating to hear about all of the attention to detail that goes into making this sub truly representative of our great state. The Committee is accepting artistic, original, iconic Idaho works to be included in the interior of the sub, such as photographs and paintings. If you or someone you know would like to have work considered, please go to their website for more information . It would be quite an honor to have your work accepted.  The expected life of the sub is 35 years. Sugar Days 2025 Thanks for another great Sugar Day...